Cuomo’s gun law will do little to prevent further violence

We needed thoughtful debate in the wake of the Newtown and Webster tragedies about preventative measures to help thwart or lessen the severity of these type of incidents in the future.

We don’t need 30 round magazines to hunt deer or defend our homes.

What we didn’t need, however, was a governor preying on people’s emotions to push his agenda and further his political calling in the next presidential election.

And what we got was the latter.

What we got was a so-called “assault weapons” ban that overnight turned hundreds of thousands of law abiding, taxpaying gun owners into criminals.

How does turning law abiding citizens into criminals help fight crime?

What we got were subjective mental health provisions that will most likely scare people in need away from seeking help for fear their hunting rifles will be confiscated.

What we got was an intrusive ammunition tracking program that will have Big Brother closing in on the local 4-H shooting program because of the number of .22 rounds they expend in a weekend.

What we got was, in a word, ridiculous.

This law will do little to stop the type of mass shootings that prompted the legislation in the first place.

What it will do is allow president-elect Andrew Cuomo to stand at a podium in 2016 and tell the nation that he worked tirelessly to enact the “the toughest gun control law in the country.”

That’s what this is really about.

But at what expense?

At the expense of law abiding hunters, target shooters and other gun enthusiasts — a parting gift from Gov. Cuomo prior to leaving for Washington D.C.

For those who have not read it — like half the legislators in Albany who were not afforded the time — the law redefines “assault weapons” as any semiautomatic rifle with a detachable clip and one “military style” feature. Those features run the gamut from a flash suppressor to a pistol grip to a thumb hole stock to a bayonet mount.